January-February 1968 ANTARCTIC JOURNAL of the United States
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January-February 1968 ANTARCTIC JOURNAL of the United States ANTARCTIC JOURNAL of the United States Vol. III January-February 1968 No. 1 Prepared jointly by Office of Antarctic Programs, National Science Foundation and U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, Department of Defense CONTENTS CONSERVATION IN THE ANTARCTIC, by Raymond F. Dasmann ........ I. SUPPORT ACTIVITIES, OCTOBER 27—DECEMBER 15, 1967 6 LONG-RANGE PLANNING, b y A. P. Crary ............................... 10 EVACUATION FLIGHT TO HALLEY BAY . 14 GONDWANA AND DRIFT SYMPOSIA HELD IN SOUTH AMERICA, byDwight L. Schmidt ........................................................... 15 ELTANIN CRUISE 30 17 NOTES Soviet Geologist Joins Marie Byrd Land Survey 17 Veteran Antarctic Icebreaker Returns Under "New" Name 20 Alan T. Waterman Dies . 21 Dunedin Dedicates Memorial to Admiral Byrd 22 Russian Translations ........................................................... 22 New Publications ............................................................... 22 Erratum . 22 Greenwich Mean Time is used, except where otherwise indicated. Published bimonthly by the National Science Foundation with the assistance of the De- partment of Defense. Use of funds for printing this publication approved by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, October 13, 1965. Communications should be addressed to the Information Officer, Office of Antarctic Programs, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. 20550. ANTARCTIC ACTIVITIES 1967 — 1968 United States Antarctic Research Program NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION // / SOUTH A TL A NT/C OCEAN z— / 30 -- / -.. 30 INDIAN OCEAN / THERE ARE NUMEROUS J k,. • H / COASTAL STATIONS ONASOOASEASSDT ANTARCTIC PENINSULA S WE" 4 OPERATED RH ARGENTINA, C HILE AND THE UNITED 7 QUEED LAND AMERICA BAS PALMER TELGRANO EN:ERBY LAND / I ANTARCTIC STATION RONNE I SHE F, E IC TS. N AM R AN HIGHLAND / / ELLSWORTH LAND( 90 - 90 RANTS 1 h5. .,. (USSR) • POLE VOSTOK IUSSRI VESSEL THE RESEARCH w CUFF N AL EXAND RA RESEARCH CRUISES IN w ROSS ARIE -^A ON YEAR-ROUN LAN 120 SCOTT BASE S N SE A It VICTORIA LAND DUMONT DURVILLE`,,c N I5O. 50 -& ARCT/C CIRCL E -- -- - ISO SOUTH PACIFIC NEW ZEALAND OCEAN RGENCE AR C T I C STATION DESCRIPTION ANI ' Al— PLAnAl 1.11 Lol All.. STATUTE MILES 5,012 16 102 21 LEGEND U.S., U.S. CCCpTT)AT S U Foreign Stations AT,1TI Phot ogr aphy for Mapping G eo l ogi ca l GRId PCTTIRS Ma AT p Control RICIC9(CCI PiIA PT,IIT, -Geophysical I—estigations • ••• OIMNgy All ISTAYUTE MILES) M5 1. 2. Conservation in the Antarctic RAYMOND F. DASMANN Itmo The Conservation Foundation Ar Washington, D.C. I Antarctica presents only a limited range of environments suitable for plant and animal life. Here, Adélie penguins occup y a slab of floe ice during the summer breeding season AO near Hallett Station. r (NSF Photo) This paper is addressed to those persons who The Meaning of Conservation have worked in Antarctica or who are proposing to visit the Continent and who have, therefore, some In speaking about conservation, it is essential to active concern for its future. I have not yet had the define what one means. Definitions on this subject good fortune to visit the Antarctic, but as an ecologist change to fit both the expanding role of conserva- tion and the interests of the groups giving the defini- I have an interest in it and feel personally involved in the conservation of its unique biological features. tions. Many who are concerned with environmen- tal problems reject the term "conservation" be- The fascination of Antarctica to an ecologist is a cause of various connotations it has acquired result not only of its difference from other places through past use. Here, conservation is defined as but of the unusual simplicity of its biota. There are the rational use of the environment to achieve the few places on Earth where all of the species inter- highest quality of living for mankind. acting within an ecosystem can be listed on the back of an envelope and where communities are so sim- A broad definition requires explanation. Ra- plified that one can trace in detail all of the ele- tional use is regarded as being based upon consid- ments involved in the normally complex process of eration of all appropriate knowledge and upon a biotic succession. Problems that seem beyondbeyond the view to the long-term prospects of the human race. reach of analysis in other parts of the world can be Mistakes may be made and use may become irra- readily studied in the Antarctic. tional for a society when the short-term view is taken or when available knowledge is neglected or To a conservationist, the Antarctic holds a fasci- ignored. Thus it is regarded here as irrational to nation also because of the relative simplicity of its sacrifice a forest of great potential value to obtain problems and because such a good beginning has • few sparse cash crops, to change a rangeland into been made toward solving them through the Ant- • desert so that a livestock owner can make some arctic Treaty. Perhaps we have in Antarctica a immediate economic gain, to let the blue whale die final testing ground for conservation. If we cannot out as a species to meet some immediate need for solve our environmental problems there, we may not meat or fats, or to allow the antarctic seal popula- be able to solve them anywhere. tions to vanish to permit some immediate economic gain to a small section of society. These are obvious examples. Unfortunately, what is irrational for so- Talk presented to field personnel of the U.S. Antarctic Research Program assembled at Skyland, Virginia, Septem- ciety in the long run is often considered highly ra- ber 18-22, 1967. tional for the individual or for segments of society January-February, 1968 in the short run. Therein lies the source of most a great tendency to look only as far as tomorrow environmental problems today and the need for so- or the next election—to sacrifice irreplaceable nat- ciety as a whole to exercise control over the activi- ural resources in order to forestall todays crisis. ties of its various components. Such courses of action, however, only guarantee Rational use becomes a synonym for conservation that the crisis next year will be more severe than only if we recognize that it involves, at times, non- the present one. They lead toward a future in which use or complete preservation. For example, to the freedom of all is restricted and the opportunity maintain certain resources for the future or to re- for change is lost. They lead down a technologi- store populations of some endangered species, it cally determined road of no return to a future of may be necessary to provide complete protection uniformity and conformity from which there can be from human interference. Furthermore, the highest no way out. use that can be made of some resources may well For millions of years, nature has favored the de- be of a scientific, educational, or aesthetic nature velopment of the greatest possible environmental di- that does not involve any obvious economic bene- versity—geologic, climatic, and biologic. Only dur- fits. It is in this definition of rational use that we ing the past century has man seriously affected this find the greatest split in the conservation fraternity— evolutionary trend and moved strongly in the direc- between those who believe that resources should be tion of increasing uniformity. In so doing, however, used to meet immediate demands and those who he threatens his own long-term survival and all of wish to preserve areas unmodified by man for the those qualities included in the best sense of the word indefinite future. This split is not categorical but "human." one of degree. Nevertheless, it becomes important In summary, conservation necessarily involves when considering resources that are both scarce and long-term planning for, and control over, the use of of high economic value. the environment, taking into account all available It is impossible to define the term "highest knowledge and values, for the maintenance or crea- quality of living" to everyones satisfaction. Ob- tion of the widest practicable diversity in both nat- viously, the emphasis is on quality, not on quantity, ural and man-made environments. Effective achieve- but it must be recognized that quality of living is ment of the goals of conservation would allow the dependent upon quantity of production to the ex- widest choice in ways of living and the opportunity tent that human needs are satisfied. Each person, to satisfy the greatest range of human aspirations. each culture, and each nation will have a different In Antarctica, conservation is being effected view of what constitutes a high quality of existence. through the Antarctic Treaty, which requires that Conservation, therefore, must involve the mainte- the entire area, for the present at least, be treated nance of an environment in which these various as an international scientific laboratory. It has goals can be pursued, where there is room both for been decided that the most rational use of the Con- people who want to build many kinds of utopias and tinent at this time is scientific research. We are thus for people who want no utopia at all. The most im- in an unusual position with respect to Antarctica. portant goal for conservation is the maintenance or Many of us have wished that other continents and creation of environmental diversity, not only nat- islands could have been studied scientifically before ural diversity (the full spectrum of physical and bio- they were exploited. But exploitation has always logical environments on Earth), but also man-made come first, so we have had to deal with modified diversity (different kinds of cities, landscapes, and environments—trying to determine what they once ways of living for the highly varied kinds of people were, what their capabilities could have been, and of present and future generations).